Brasil!

Oi! Boum Gia! Yesterday morning we arrived in Brazil. As soon as the ship docked and the immigration officers finished stamping passports we were finally free to explore. Descending the stairs or the ship on to the dock we were greeted by a quartet of drummers playing an African beat and by women who tied bracelets around our wrists. The bracelets are ribbons that say “ Branca do Senhor do Bonfim de Bahia”. I cannot translate that but they represent a tradition of the church where as they are tied on these bracelets are tied with three knots. You are told to make a wish and you must wear it until it falls off. If you take it off you are brought bad luck. So now I most likely will have it on until San Diego.
The women that gave us the bracelets were adorned in great traditional costumes. With petticoats worn under their layered dresses, they appeared to be either extremely overweight or hiding a small child under their dresses. Let’s just say that I have never appeared so thin as when I stood next to the 4 of them. On their heads they each wore a colored turban and they had multiple necklaces and bracelets dangling around their necks and arms.
My first outing of the day was not until a couple hours later when I departed on a walking tour of Salvador. The historical part of the tour itself was miserable as the woman was old and it was her first tour. You could barely hear her and she kept forgetting information. But really it didn’t matter because the only reason that I signed up for the tour was to be able to take out make nice camera for lots of pictures without worrying about getting it stolen. I did get many wonderful pictures and as it is the week of Carnival, many people were I dressed in interesting costumes…I have never seen so many men dressed as women in my life.
The city architecture of Salvador is amazing, but as the years have past the facades of each home are now just remnants of the beauty they once held. The buildings appear to be skeletons of a once complete body. Because of the humidity in Brazil, the colorful pinks, blues, yellows and whites of the paints are stripped of their vibrance and because of the cost of upkeep they are left peeling and thirsty for new protection.
Salvador is the second largest concentration of Africans in the world after Nigeria so no matter how you are dressed they know you are a tourist from your skin color alone. In Brazil there is a huge difference in wealth as the poor people are very poor and the small percent of the wealthy are very rich. Carnival is one time in the year where there is supposed to be a redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor as they all celebrate the week before Lent and all boundries are broken. In Salvador Carnival is celebrated in a traditional way with band after band parading down the streets followed by dancers in traditional costumes and often accompanied by men and boys practicing Capoiera, a type of martial arts that was created as a secret activity for military defense. Everything in Salvador has an African undertone, so if you are thinking of the giant floats and flashy costumes of the Rio de Janiero Carnival you would be mistaken. As much as I would love to go to Rio, at this point I am a little terrified of the robbing that occurs and the fact that it is the most dangerous city in Brazil at the busiest time so needless to say, I am content to stay in Salvador. Carnival is the biggest party in the world according to the Guinness book of World Records and so it is pretty cool to be a part of it no matter what city I am in. As I mentioned before, there are men on the street that travel in packs wearing the same outfit but dressed as women. They wear wigs, they wear miniskirts, they wear makeup and I don’t think they were gay. It is the most bizarre thing that I have seen. Especially because they are of all ages from 8 to 60. Last night as I was out celebrating Carnival on the streets on of these “men” came up to me and my friends and I could not tell if he was more attracted to me or one of the boys. I think they all must be confused or at least crazy. By the way, his name was Waldo and he wore fishnets and a leather corsette…My kind of man.

The people of Brazil are as diverse as they come. 2/3 of the Brazilian population are living in poverty and Brazil is home to many street children who are without home or family and are known for surviving off of what they steal from the filet mignon, also know as the tourists. It was so interesting to start of my trip in Brazil by walking around the city, but it was more difficult than I thought it would be. I was expecting to see poverty in South Africa and India, but Brazil appears to be quite eye-opening as well. The city reeks of urine as the street-dwellers use every corner and tree to relieve themselves. That with the mix of humidity and sweat creates an odor that consumes the city. There are men and women that lay on the streets looking malnourished and in need of help. Even the vendors are not the same as those in Mexico as these people are missing many teeth, have sink ailments and appear to be walking skeletons. We were warned not to carry cameras with us as most people see a camera as 5 years worth of work. It makes you incredibly guilty to see their lifestyles knowing that there is little you can do to help in the long term.
On the other side of the people, Brazilians come from all around to witness Carnival and so this is their week of fun. I have never seen so many adorable children running around in little skirts and fancy bra-type tops and boys in Batman costumes (don’t ask me why). They are all so colorful and the sparkle as they walk down the streets trying to keep up with their parents.
I have so much more to say about it but I will write more later!